Before & After: The Living Room

Here it is, finally, the renovated living room. I don't know why it took us so long to get this room done. There weren't any major structural changes aside from the building of the fireplace but I guess when you touch every surface from floor to ceiling, it takes a bit of time. It took a bit of time to turn something that looks like this...

The room has much more pattern and colour than any other room in the house. The wallpaper in the dining room kind of forced us to also use colour in the living room, but I'm really embracing the look. We tried to be a bit bolder in our decorating choices, mixing textures, patterns, and styles. I would have to say this was the hardest room to decorate in our house!

We've tried to keep this a room everyone can enjoy so that means that Chloe's toys and books have a place here too. There's one thing left to do which is pretty up the sideboard wall. We need to turn the sideboard into a media cabinet (hence the cable box sitting on top) and I think we'll be painting the sideboard too, to lighten things up on that side of the room.

But that's a bigger project for another day. For now, we'll just sit back and enjoy sitting in a finished room.

Oh my goodness! I love what you've done with your living room! The yellow pairs extremely well with the teal china cabinet..and is that a slate blue on the hutch? I love all the little details...the mirror, your daughter's portrait, and the radiator bench/cover. Beautiful!! I bet you just sit there for hours just admiring it =)

This took my breath away. Seriously! I love it. It is the perfect room. i love the blown up picture of your daughter. Do you have a printing company that you recommend? And have you already answered where the pillows are from?

Your home is so fresh and chic! Love everything from the hutch to the two occasional chairs. I also adore your way of mixing fabrics and patterns. Your bolder decorating choices totally paid off. And the fireplace is absolutely gorgeous. Your husband did a wonderful job! Great blog, a new follower!

Jen, I love it!!! You and Handyman did such an awesome job in this room!! Where do I start? Love the patterned fabrics you chose for the chairs and the Tonic curtains! Great colour choice for the cabinet & hutch combo! Of course the fireplace is perfection! And I love the rug you chose, it's gorgeous! Congrats on having it done - now enjoy!!

This room is simply gorgeous. There are so many elements I just love - the colour palette, the C&B chairs, the painted hutch and dresser, the blown up photo of your daughter, and the placement of your television (like how it's hidden when you walk into the room from your front hall). Superb job! you should be so proud.

Where do I begin? I love how the two vintage units now tie in perfectly together with a coat of paint (love the smokey blue by the way), the pair of chairs from C&B in dwell fabric, your custom drapes by Tonic Living, the tiles on the fireplace (so stylish and sophisticated, esp with the subtle frame around the fireplace), your pillows, and how the two rooms connect so nicely with one another!!

Now i have to ask you where you got those lovely art work next to the fireplace, the industrial coffee table (homesense?) and that lovely area rug!!

I was also on the hunt of the west elm drapes you have in your dining room but can't find it anymore!!

thanks so much for sharing the transformation with us.. . it is an inspiration!!

It looks so beautiful! I love the flow between the dining and living rooms and the fabrics you chose. It also feels done, but accessible so it's not so perfect that you can't put your feet up and relax. Well done!

The curtains are custom from tonicliving.com. The pattern is Theo in Marble. Love Tonic Living - they also did my bedroom curtains which you can see here: http://ramblingrenovators.blogspot.com/2010/06/tonic-living-custom-drapery.html

Hi,I assume that you are a professional painter. Very nice and creative. Still just want to share my thoughts though.In the home, interior paint colors are the cheapest way to accent, style, dramatize, and personalize a certain area. Interior paint can be used to hide a certain flaw or dramatically change a room in the home.Regardshttp://affordablepaintersmississauga.ca/

Thank you! The hutch and the dresser are painted the same colour, Schoolhouse Slate by Martha Stewart. I love the colour - its not too bold and pairs really well with the soft grey walls. I do enjoy sitting in the room, especially when the fire is on ;)

Wow I am speechless! What a transformation! LOVE everything you've done to this room: excellent combination of colors and patterns, attention to details and accent pieces. I am sure this deserves to be featured in any major home reno magazine. Nice job again!

Gorgeous! What talent! I love the area rug that pulls everything beautifully together! I have been looking for the area rug and I think I have found it but I have to oder it in and want to make sure it's the right one. Would it be model # 63222 Crystal ? (alexian carpet) Thanks!

There is a slight noticeable variation in heat from some of our rads but I'm not entirely sure if that problem was already there before or not. One of our rads at the top floor just never seems to get really hot, even if we bleed the air out of it, so we've had to create a way to prop up the lid so more heat gets out.

The photo of my daughter wasn't professionally printed; my husband just printed it on his large scale office printer. I can't recommend a printing company unfortunately but I have heard good things about posterjack.ca.

The large sofa pillows were from HomeSense, the yellow one from West Elm, the circle ruffle pillow and the butterfly pillows were also from HomeSense.

You just knocked my socks right off my feet!! Wow, this is one gorgeous room! You guys did an amazing job putting it all together, I know how much longer a project can take with a little one helping out:) I have to go back and look at the pictures again.

Jennifer!!! Your living room looks amazing!!! I love how the yellow patterned chairs tie in with the colours in the dining room. Your styling skills are getting pretty pro if you ask me.... and my favourite touches are the two pillows on the chairs. That butterfly one?? Love!! :)

AHhhh! I LOVE IT! You guys did an incredible job! I cannot believe it's taken me this long to get around to reading this post... it's just been one of those weeks and I've fallen so far behind on my blog reading! Great work you guys!

Wow, it all looks so wonderful. I love all the colors. Is that Robert Allen for Dwell Studio fabric on the chairs...love! I also love the picture of your daughter. It's so personal and yet really artistic.

The first thing I noticed about the chair is the shape. Its transitional, with the wood base but a bit modern too with the sloped arms. And its so comfortable!! I can imagine keeping this chair for years and years.

I think the fabric has a classic pattern that will look good for a long time. You can tone it down with solid toss pillows or a solid throw. The piece is pretty versatile - it would look just as good as an accent chair in a bedroom as it does in a living room. You can always get the chair recovered with new fabric if you tire of it down the road; the shape of the chair is classic and won't look trendy.

Wow! Looks fabulous Jen- What a transformation- the yellow is such a great colour for a front family room and really carries through nicely from the dining room. The rustic and vintage touches really allow the room to stay family friendly but very sophisticated!

Thanks for noticing! I didn't want the TV to be so visible or take centre stage. We may move the TV to the basement eventually and just have this as a sitting room so it was important that the room wasn't centred around the TV.

I agree with everyone: the room is lovely! The colors, patterns, textures - they all flow so well from room to room. I especially like the mixture of natural elements (the seashells in the display case, the floral notes in the rug and pillows) with the stronger, geometrical textiles (in the curtains,and beloved Chloe chairs). Great mix. Inspiring, as always.

Stunning! You really did an amazing job. I love every element, including your space planning. I've been thinking of finding a similar vintage hutch to spray for our living room, but was worried it would take up too much space. You've just inspired me to start hunting around.

Enjoy every minute of relaxing with your family in this beautiful, bright and stylish space.

Absolutely beautiful as usual Jen! I love how it turned out and like everyone said it was well worth the wait. The connection with the yellow pattern between the living room and wallpaper is perfect. Not too matchy matchy but still tying together visually. Perfect. Keep up the good work!

So amazing! The room manages to look styled while still being interesting, comfortable and lived in. (The holy design trinity.) I love every bit of it, but my heart belongs to those chairs! Great work!

total LOVE! The choices you made in colour and pattern are so pretty. Your turquoise hutch looks great with the yellow chairs. And that tiny red chair - my parents have one just like it in their entrance where I used to sit as a toddler to put on my shoes :)

Oh no, you are not going to believe this. I just checked the urbanbarn.com website and it looks like the coffee table is no longer being sold. I knew there must have been a reason it was on sale when we bought it a few weeks ago :( I don't even have the name of the table, but if you called your local Urban Barn and described it, they may be able to see if there is still one in stock for you? Sorry!

Oh my goodness...soooo excited to see this. I love love how it turned out - the colours are perfect with your living room. I adore the grey pieces on either side of the sofa and that blown up photo of Chloe is perfection...absolutely my favourite thing in the room. Gorgeous!!!

tell me about your radiator cover - did you make it? I'm trying to find a material similar to the front - a "punched-out screen design" for a cover for our whole-house attic fan. you used exactly what i'm trying to find!